Rubbish article - doesn't even say whether it's their option or our option or both - their previous article on the same issue implied that only Villa have the option , not us - so we are stuck with him on relegation if they don't fancy having him back.
Which makes no sense to me.
My understanding was that if relegated , it is our option and we can compel Villa to buy him back at an agreed fee , which is a little less than we paid - hence the popular notion that it was really a loan and the difference in fee from original to buyback is in effect a loan-fee.
I recall it being said that the deal even included what his wages would be on such a "forced" return to Villa.
The deal was apparently structured so that if we'd stayed up , we did NOT have the option , which meant that the deal was NOT a loan (because no one could predict with certainty - apart from Blades fans - what the outcome of the season would be.
That's what I understand to be our rights.
I don't know if , as a corollary , Villa had the option to buy him back (against our wishes) if we'd stayed up.
So after all that waffle , i believe Bettis was publicly pleased with the deal at the time , because it protected us financially if we got relegated and needed to recoup (most of) the fee and offload his wages.
In cashflow terms , I further understand that we paid an initial £9m , with the balance of £9m due this summer if he stays (figures are approx).
Of course the proof of the pudding is always in the eating.
I imagine Villa don't want him back since he's done nowt special for us and we will be desperate to recoup our money.
So it's going to be a case of us relying on the deal to force Villa to buy him back (will this end up in court I wonder , given that it broke new legal ground and the PL looked very hard at the terms before sanctioning it).
The PL transfer window opens on 14 June and surely this will be our first bit of business - I can't see us coughing up the £9m balance or continuing to pay his wages (very much doubt there is a relegation clause in his contract with us coz it would seem irrelevant).
We will want to get our greasy mitts on what the deal says we can recoup of the initial £9m.
What I have written is in good faith , gleaned from announcements and media reports at the time.
Please don't hesitate to correct me if you have direct knowledge or a different understanding.
As ever , I could be wrong
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